NC Dept of Health suspended license of the only abortion clinic in NC which meets new requirements

[Triana]

The NC Department of Health and Human Services has suspended the license of the only abortion clinic in North Carolina that would have met the requirements laid out in the motorcycle safety/abortion restriction bill signed into law this week.

Via The Citizen-Times:

After a routine survey of FemCare of Asheville, inspectors found “egregious violations of existing rules that revealed an imminent threat to the health and safety of patients,” according to a statement from the state DHHS office Wednesday.

Drexdal Pratt, director of DHHS’ Division of Health Service Regulation, said in the statement that the clinic failed to meet 23 separate rules.

“We take rule violations very seriously and, when necessary, take firm action to prevent harm to patients and clients in the facilities that we license regulate and inspect,” Pratt said.




LINK:

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20130731/NEWS01/307310064/1009/NEWS01

SEE ALSO:

http://www.wsls.com/story/22982863/dhhs-closes-abortion-clinic-in-asheville

[Triana]

1. RELATED: NC State Health Director resigns from DHHS

Part of Gerard’s letter of resignation, via NC Policy Watch:

Although I have demonstrated the ability to produce accomplishments that require work and collaboration with diverse groups and across political aisles, I acknowledge that I have significant differences and disagreements with many of the policy and administrative directions that I see unfolding in North Carolina and in the Department of Health and Human Services. These differences are making it increasingly impossible to continue to be effective in my current role.

THE REST: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2013/07/31/state-health-director-resigns-from-dhhs/#sthash.WtbNX9Av.dpuf

[dsc]

2. alot has been made, justifyably of how hard Texas women will have it with the

law Texas passed, but if this clinic is shuttered and the law is applied to the rest, NC will have no clinics left. Yes, NC is smaller than Texas but it is also surrounded by states that have a history of being as nutty it is being when it comes to this issue. DC and Maryland may well find their clinics swamped.

[napi21]

3. I read the reasons they gave for the suspension.

It looks to me that IF the masks were torn and tubes were held together with tape, those things are valid reasons to suspend, BUT the rest of the reasons look like typical political crap to me.

[undiegrinder]

5. Not to sound like an 'internet panhandler' or anything, but ...

Got a link ?

If you have the whole list, I'd love to read it because I agree totally -- torn masks, taped tubes? no good -- and it'd be interesting to see how many of the violations were of that nature vs. how many were simply about not meeting the new tougher regulations.

I'd also like to learn more about this quote from Dr. Lorraine Cummings who, per Citizen News, "issued the following statement on behalf of Femcare Inc." :

“Since the state’s last site visit in August 2006 there have been no changes in our operating protocols, but increasing regulations require us to make changes ...“Standards that were acceptable when we were last inspected have changed and, as soon as we were notified of them two weeks ago, we began the process of meeting each one of them.

Hardly a shock at this point if the uber-Christians have added last-minute notification of major/expensive renovations to their bag of anti-choice legislative tricks.

Note to OP Triana: Thanks for posting this. Just FYI, your link to Citizen-Times is n/g. I found the above quote here: http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013307310066

[Triana]

6. Link is in the OP. n/t

[undiegrinder]

7. Say what ?

"Link is in the OP. n/t"

Even though it appears that no good deed goes unpun/tished, I'll still give it one last try:

The first link in the OP -- the one to the Citizen-Times ? -- DOES NOT WORK.

It leads to a Citizen-Times.com error page which reads: "Unfortunately, that page could not be found."

(IOW, it is an ex-link ... it has ceased to link ... bereft of linkage, it links no more ...)


When I searched the C-T site, the most recent item was a story headlined "State to close Asheville abortion clinic" which looked like it MIGHT be the story you were attempting to link to in the OP.


If it IS the story you were attempting to link to in the OP and you DO want to fix it, here (again), for your convenience, is its link:

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013307310066


If, however, it is NOT the story you were attempting to link to in the OP and/or you do NOT want to fix it ... ?

It does not change the fact that the first link in the OP does not work.

[emsimon33]

4. Guess it is back to the wire hangers.

[Lee-Lee]

8. Planned Parentood, WTF?

“I think this is continued evidence that the regulations we already have in place are working,” said Melissa Reed, the vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood. “It is absolutely critical that every single clinic meet current regulations, and that any violations are met in a direct and speedy manner.”

Reed said Planned Parenthood, which is not affiliated with FemCare, has never had a clinic shut down in North Carolina.

They came out almost in favor of the closure, since it isn't one of "their" clinics.